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Sweet with old-fashioned flavor, these oatmeal cookies are jazzed up with salty crunchy macadamia nuts and mellowed with creamy white chocolate. Gluten free eaters won't soon forget these delicious treats.
Today, tomorrow, whenever it will be - if you're going to spend some calories on a cookie, you ought to make it count. These white chocolate macadamia nut cookies are made with rich butter and coconut oil, both white and brown sugar, and gluten free flours and oats. And the best ingredients of all - salty, crunchy macadamia nuts and creamy white chocolate chips. Totally worth the calories 🙂
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I first made these cookies for one of our dinners that we host on Sundays for our whole family - all our kids and grandkids. One of my grandsons ran by, grabbed a cookie from a tray, and ran outside with it. After a while he came back inside and said "that's probably the best cookie I ever ate!"
This is one of our family's favorite cookie recipes now. They are surprisingly easy to make, but unique enough to make you look like a baking genius at your next family gathering or party.
Why This Gluten Free Cookie Recipe Works
You've probably had gluten free cookies that crumbled apart or had a gritty texture. These don't, and there are two main reasons why.
- The right combination of gluten free flours: In this recipe I use my brown rice flour blend (see Ingredients below for more info), and a little coconut flour for the perfect texture and sweetness. This combo of flours is a pretty great sub for all-purpose flour in gluten free cookie recipes.
- Using the right techniques: Using several different kinds of flours often means that each flour absorbs the fats and the eggs in gluten free recipes at different rates. So a good general rule for baking gluten free is to mix the dough for a longer time (like a full minute or two), and then letting the dough rest for a good long time before baking it so each flour gets the time it needs to the wet ingredients and soften. Typically I get good results when resting the dough for 30 minutes. And if you can wait longer before baking your cookies, cover the dough and let it rest in the fridge for a couple of hours. Trust me, these tips make a world of difference in how well your cookies turn out!
Ingredients You'll Need
Here's what goes into these gluten-free oatmeal cookies:
- Healthy fats - softened butter and coconut oil. They each add their own special touch to these cookies, so definitely use both in this recipe. If needed, soften them in the microwave for a few seconds so they will blend easily.
- Sugars - brown sugar, white sugar. Just the standard stuff.
- Eggs - I use large eggs in pretty much all my recipes.
- Vanilla extract
- Brown rice flour blend -( my own blend) This is 3 parts brown rice flour, 1 part tapioca starch, and 1 part potato starch.
- Coconut flour - just this little bit adds a fragrant sweetness that is just right for cookies
- Can't forget xanthan gum - it holds the gluten free flours together
- sweet white chocolate chips - if you need these cookies to be dairy free, scroll down to see the info in the yellow box
- salted macadamia nuts - white chocolate + macadamia nuts are the perfect combo!
- Oatmeal - remember, certified gluten free oats are what you need for them to be gluten free cookies.
- Salt and baking soda
Other recipes of mine that use coconut flour- gluten free zucchini bread, gluten free graham crackers, gluten free banana bread, gluten free soft gingersnaps, gluten free chocolate chip cookies, and there's probably more but those are a few that come to mind! 😄
And if you're new to gluten free flour, read this: A Guide to Gluten Free Flour.
How to Make These Cookies Dairy Free
🧈 Replace the butter with a vegan butter substitute like Earth Balance Buttery spread, or Country Crock Plant Based butter sticks. And definitely keep the coconut oil!
👩🏻🍳 Replace the white chocolate chips with Enjoy Life dairy free white chocolate chips.
My Favorite Tools for Baking Cookies
If you're planning on making these cookies let me tell you a bit about what I use to make it even more fun.
- Nordic Ware baking sheets: These are by far the best cookie sheets I've ever used. They do not warp. Cookies bake evenly on them. And even if you burn something on these super tough cookie sheets, they are easy to scrub and return to their original silvery shade, just like new.
- Silicone baking mat: I've had these for so many years. You unroll them onto your cookie sheets and they make the surface non-stick. Clean up is a breeze - wash, dry and roll them up like a scroll so they're ready for your next baking project.
- cookie scoop: when I was a kid we used to use two spoons to scoop cookie dough and drop it on the cookie sheets. A cookie scoop lets you do this operation one handed. So much faster!
- KitchenAid mixer: my old friend and kitchen essential! My kitchen wouldn't function well without this workhorse. I fully intend to be able to bequeath this to a family member in my will in the far distant future, and it should still be going strong.
White Chocolate Macadamia Cookies, Step by Step
This easy recipe is pretty straightforward. If you already know how to make chocolate chip cookies, it's pretty much like that. But remember the extra mixing time and the resting time is super important for gluten free cookies, so don't rush through those steps.
Step 1. Add the softened butter, coconut oil, and sugars to the bowl of a stand mixer. Mix on medium speed until creamy.
Step 2. Add eggs and vanilla. Continue to mix on medium speed until combined.
Step 3. Next comes the dry ingredients: the gluten free flours, salt, soda and xanthan gum. Mix well.
Step 4. Add oatmeal and let the mixer run for a full minute. This will help to hydrate the gluten free flour to totally eliminate that gritty texture it can sometimes have.
Step 5. Stir in the nuts and white chocolate chips. Cover with plastic wrap and let the dough rest for 30 minutes, or chill it in the fridge for an hour or more. Just one more step to hydrate those GF flours.
Step 6. On a baking sheet lined with parchment paper or a silicone mat, drop cookie dough using a cookie scoop. I use a 2 inch scoop for nice big cookies. You can also use a big spoon.
Step 7. Bake cookies at 350℉ for about 7 minutes. To test if they are done, touch the center of a cookie. If it's wet, it's not ready yet. If it's more firm and set, it's done (even if it the rest of the cookie still feels kind of squishy).
Step 9. Remove the cookies from the oven and let them cool on the cookie sheet for at least 5 minutes before you move them to a wire rack. Gluten free cookies need time for that gluten free flour to cool down and "set" for that perfect chewy texture.
Gluten Free Oats - Certified or No?
Yes you do need certified gluten free oats if you need these cookies to be gluten free. Here's why that matters.
Oats are naturally gluten free, but because oat grains look almost identical to wheat grains, there is a risk of them getting mixed up during processing and packaging. Stick with certified gluten free oats to avoid that possibility.
If you're baking for someone with celiac disease or a serious gluten sensitivity, certified gluten free oats are not optional. The certification means the oats were grown, harvested, and packaged in a completely gluten-free environment.
White Chocolate Macadamia Oatmeal Cookies - Gluten Free
Sweet with old-fashioned flavor, these oatmeal cookies are jazzed up with salty crunchy macadamia nuts and mellowed with creamy white chocolate. Gluten free eaters won't soon forget these delicious treats.
- Prep Time: 45 minutes (includes resting time)
- Cook Time: 8 minutes
- Total Time: 53 minutes
- Yield: 20 cookies 1x
- Category: Dessert, dessert recipe
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
- Diet: Gluten Free, Gluten-Free
Ingredients
- ½ cup coconut oil
- ½ cup butter, softened
- 1 cup brown sugar
- 1 cup white sugar
- 2 eggs
- 1 tsp. vanilla
- 1 cup ( 140 g) Brown Rice Flour blend *see Notes
- ¼ cup ( 30 g) coconut flour
- 1 tsp. salt
- 1 tsp. soda
- 1 tsp. xanthan gum
- 2 ½ cups oatmeal
- ¾ cup salted macadamia nuts, roughly chopped
- 1 cup white chocolate chips
Instructions
- In a mixer, cream coconut oil, butter, brown sugar, and white sugar.
- Add the eggs and vanilla, mix well.
- Add the flours, salt, soda, and xanthan gum. Mix well.
- Add the oatmeal and mix well. Keep mixing on medium speed for an extra minute to thoroughly hydrate the gluten free flours.
- Stir in the nuts and chocolate chips. Just use the same paddle attachment on your mixer, but run it slowly until everything is combined together.
- Cover and let the dough rest for 30 minutes, or chill it in the fridge for an hour or more.
- Heat the oven to 350℉. On a baking sheet lined with parchment paper or a silicone mat, drop cookie dough using a cookie scoop. I use a 2 inch scoop for nice big cookies. You can also use a big spoon.
- Bake at 350℉ for about 7 minutes, or until they pass the "touch test". Touch the cookie in the very center, and if no cookie dough clings to your finger, they are ready to take out.
- Let them cool for at least 5 minutes before removing them from the pan.They will get more solid as they cool. Gluten free baked goods need extra time to cool - if you pick them up too soon, they will crumble and break apart.
Notes
Notes: Brown rice flour blend (my own blend) - This is 3 parts brown rice flour, 1 part tapioca starch, and 1 part potato starch.
Storing and Freezing
🍪 How to store gluten free cookies: You can keep them in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days. After that, chill in the fridge since they have no preservatives.
❄️ How to freeze cookies: Store the cookies in an airtight freezer safe container, or a freezer bag for up to 3 months (if they last that long!)
‼️ Bonus tip: Are you worried about being tempted by a big batch of delicious cookies? Form the unbaked dough into balls and flash freeze them on a cookie sheet until they are firm. Then transfer them to a freezer bag. That way you only need to bake a few cookies at a time. They might need an extra minute or two in the oven when they're frozen. Just keep an eye on them and take them out when the centers are set and a little browned around the edges.
More Gluten Free Desserts That Everyone Loves
Roundup! 🤠🐎
Did you know this recipe is part of my Best Gluten Free Baked Goods roundup? Come by to see all the delicious recipes - you might find some new favorites!
Recipe creator: Kristie Winget, who loves baking cookies for her grandkids. Here's a little more about me.
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